The Houses of Parliament
Bill writes: Ever since we first came here 20 years ago, and in each trip since then, visiting the Houses of Parliament has been on my list of top things to do. Yet I never have seem to have gotten around to it. Well, there was only a week left, as Parliament opens this week, which means no more tours after that. So we got ourselves some tickets and off we went (well, after passing by the guards with machine guns and going through a security scan).
So for anyone coming to London, I'd say this is one of the top 10 sights to see. If the two houses of parliament make any statement, it's how much gold there is in the House of Lords and how little there is in the House of Commons. Maybe they should have renamed the houses the "Haves" and the "Have Nots" because after visiting the House of Lords, the House of Commons looks like a council estate. I'd have taken photos to show you all, but they'd have machine-gunned me. (I guess they don't want the brits knowing where their tax dollars have gone.)
We couldn't take a picture of anything but the outside of the entrance.
From where you can see the clock tower.
Still, if you want a quick impression of the House of Lords, imagine a bar of gold bullion 50 feet by 80 feet by 40 feet tall, imbedded with benches.
As you move from the HOL to the HOC, there is a distinct change in atmosphere, as paintings, gold, and money evanesce, like dew, silently away. Yet I found visiting the HOC the more moving experience. At the entrance, there is a life-size statue of Winston Churchill, which has been rubbed so often at the foot for luck by members on their way to making an important speech, that his toe is all shiny brass. And inside are the simple green leather benches we've seen so often in movies and in the news. The thought that Churchill gave so many of his great speeches there was really affecting.
Still, in a small spasm of hypocrisy after leaving parliament, we decided to live like a member of the House of Lords for an hour, so it was off to tea at The Woolsey on Piccadilly.
So for anyone coming to London, I'd say this is one of the top 10 sights to see. If the two houses of parliament make any statement, it's how much gold there is in the House of Lords and how little there is in the House of Commons. Maybe they should have renamed the houses the "Haves" and the "Have Nots" because after visiting the House of Lords, the House of Commons looks like a council estate. I'd have taken photos to show you all, but they'd have machine-gunned me. (I guess they don't want the brits knowing where their tax dollars have gone.)
We couldn't take a picture of anything but the outside of the entrance.
From where you can see the clock tower.
Still, if you want a quick impression of the House of Lords, imagine a bar of gold bullion 50 feet by 80 feet by 40 feet tall, imbedded with benches.
As you move from the HOL to the HOC, there is a distinct change in atmosphere, as paintings, gold, and money evanesce, like dew, silently away. Yet I found visiting the HOC the more moving experience. At the entrance, there is a life-size statue of Winston Churchill, which has been rubbed so often at the foot for luck by members on their way to making an important speech, that his toe is all shiny brass. And inside are the simple green leather benches we've seen so often in movies and in the news. The thought that Churchill gave so many of his great speeches there was really affecting.
Still, in a small spasm of hypocrisy after leaving parliament, we decided to live like a member of the House of Lords for an hour, so it was off to tea at The Woolsey on Piccadilly.
posted by Bill | 1:02 PM
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